Skip to content
Sheila Fortune Foundation Inc at a glance

· Private foundation

Sheila Fortune Foundation Inc

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$739k
Granted FY2025still arriving
37
Grants FY2025still arriving
5
States reached
$336k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
0199% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2021 to 2025.

Arts & Culture$1.5MYouth Development$359kReligion$357kHuman Services$137kEducation$69kEnvironment$68kHealth$33kCommunity Improvement$24kOther$0
02FY2025 · 37 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k2 grants · $16k
  • $10k–50k34 grants · $387k
  • $250k+1 grant · $336k
$12,000
Median grant
5
States reached
$18M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
St Francis in the Fields Episocopal Church$336,000
El Sistema Indianapolis$15,000
Barnstone Art for Kids$15,000
Beyond the Bars$15,000
Girls First$12,000
Greater Philadelphia YMCA$12,000
EcoArts Connections$12,000
Yes And Collaborative Arts$12,000
El Sistema Colorado$12,000
Moving Arts Espanola$12,000
MAS Comunidad$12,000
Musicopia$12,000
Santa Fe Teen Arts Center$12,000
Settlement Music School of Philadelphia$12,000
Norris Square Neighborhood Project$12,000
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY21–25, $132k) land where the poverty rate runs at 9%, against an area that typically sits at 9%. 22% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants skew toward lower-need ZIPs.

area typical 9%Village Exchange Center: $10k → 8%Delta Montrose Youth Services: $6k → 12%MtCarmel Wellness and Community Center: $12k → 18%DELTA-MONTROSE YOUTH SERVICES: $5k → 12%Mount Carmel Wellness and Community Center: $7k → 18%Expressive Path: $10k → 7%A PRECIOUS CHILD: $5k → 5%Village Exchange Center: $6k → 8%A Precious Child: $4k → 5%Expressive Path Inc: $6k → 7%VILLAGE EXCHANGE CENTER INC: $6k → 8%EXPRESSIVE PATH: $5k → 7%Village Exchange Center Inc: $5k → 8%Expressive Path: $5k → 7%Village Exchange Center Inc: $5k → 8%Expressive Path: $4k → 7%Greater Philadelphia YMCA: $12k → 7%Greater Philadelphia YMCA: $6k → 7%GREATER PHILADELPHIA YMCA: $6k → 7%Philadelphia Freedom Valley YMCA: $5k → 7%Greater Philadelphia YMCA: $5k → 7%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

81%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.1M · 107 repeat orgs$498k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +31% since the first grant, against +16% for those funded once.

107 repeat relationships: 35 still active in FY2025, 72 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

107
30

Total granted

$2.1M
$152k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+31%
+16%

Still filing today

90%
53%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 53% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $346k went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’21’22’23’24’25
Arts & CultureYouth DevelopmentEducationHuman ServicesCrime & LegalCommunity ImprovementOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • EC
    EcoArts Connections
    5× · 2021–2025 · $49k · revenue +150%
  • BA
    BARNSTONE ART FOR KIDS
    5× · 2021–2025 · $42k · revenue +31%
  • Yes And Collaborative Arts
    5× · 2021–2025 · $35k · revenue +30%

Funded once

  • IG
    Individual grant recipient
    one grant, 2024 · $9k
  • AN
    ARTsmart New Mexico
    one grant, 2021 · $8k
  • GE
    Georgia E Gregory Interdenominational School of M
    one grant, 2021 · $8k
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Artworks Community Arts Education C
—
2
Play On Philly

Play on philly provides underserved children in philadelphia, a transformative music education experience that develops and inspires the behaviors and personal skills needed for a successful life.

Arts & Culture
3
Rock Theatre

Instilling a desire in young people to learn to participate in live performances of song and dance.

—
4
Youth in Arts

Youth in Arts builds visual and performing arts skills through innovative and in-depth programs that foster confidence, compassion and resilience in students of all abilities. We develop capacity among educators and teaching artists,…

Arts & Culture
5
Connecting Through the Arts and Edu
—
6
Project Danztheatre Company

Challenges, engages and inspires audiences both onstage and in the classroom, through innovative, multidisciplinary storytelling in the genre of tanztheatre, which unites all art media and to achieve an all-embracing, radical change in…

Arts & Culture
7
Chicago City Theatre Company dba Joel Hall Dancers & Center

To enrich the lives of our community through dance education and performance while developing Chicago's native talent pool in a welcoming environment that celebrates multiculturalism & ethnic diversity.

Arts & Culture
8
Colorado Music Bridge

Colorado nbsp;music nbsp;bridge nbsp;provides nbsp;access nbsp;to nbsp;inclusive nbsp;modern nbsp;music nbsp;education nbsp;programs nbsp;curricular nbsp;resources nbsp;and nbsp;professional nbsp;development

Arts & Culture
9
Metro Theater Company

Inspired by the intelligence and emotional wisdom of young people, we create professional theater, foster inclusive community, and nurture meaningful learning through the arts.

Arts & Culture
10
Lachey Arts Inc

Lachey arts, inc. is focused on using the arts to build a diverse community of young artists, empowering the creative spirit and giving the confidence and tools to change the world.

Arts & Culture
11
Philadelphia Dance Company

The organization presents the highest quality of professional dance performance and improves the skills of emerging and professional dances and choregraphers in a nurturing environment while increasing the appreciation of dance among it's…

Arts & Culture
12
Colorado Ballet

Colorado ballet's mission is to present exceptional classical ballet and contemporary dance through performances, training, education and community engagement while inspiring and growing an increasingly diverse audience base.

Arts & Culture
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Expressive Path Inc; the most unlike its peers is Roshni. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

112 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 112 of the 139 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
38
Early backer (in before they grew)
112/112
Grantees still filing
76/112
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

EcoArts Connections: $49,000 · Arts & CultureBARNSTONE ART FOR KIDS: $42,000 · Arts & CultureNEW MEXICO JAZZ WORKSHOP INC: $39,000 · Arts & Culture+62 more: $1,004,000 · Arts & Culture+62 moreSt Francis in the Fields Episocopal Church: $336,000 · OtherSt Francis in the Fields Episocopal Chu…SANTA FE TEEN ARTS CENTER: $35,000 · OtherARTS COUNCIL OF SOUTHERN INDIANA: $33,000 · Other+42 more: $496,000 · Other+42 moreBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF NORTHEAST IND: $35,000 · Youth DevelopmentBOYS & GI…Salida Circus Outreach Foundation: $32,500 · Youth DevelopmentSalida Ci…SAN MIGUEL MENTORING PROGRAM: $31,000 · Youth DevelopmentSAN MIGUE…Keshet Dance Company: $29,000 · Youth DevelopmentKeshet Da…FIVE STAR LIFE INC: $24,500 · Youth DevelopmentFIVE STAR…ART FROM ASHES INCORPORATED: $21,000 · Youth DevelopmentART FROM …YOUTH EMPLOYMENT ACADEMY: $19,000 · Youth DevelopmentYOUTH EMP…GIRLS ROCK PHILLY: $16,500 · Youth DevelopmentGIRLS ROC…+2 more: $9,500 · Youth DevelopmentGIRLS FIRST: $33,000 · EducationA CHILDS SONG INC: $26,500 · EducationLIGHTHOUSE WRITERS WORKSHOP INC: $22,000 · EducationTHE LEARNING COUNCIL: $17,000 · EducationCREATIVE STRATEGIES FOR CHANGE: $15,500 · EducationMIGHTY WRITERS: $10,500 · Education+2 more: $8,000 · EducationGreater Philadelphia Young Men's Christian Association: $33,000 · Human ServicesVILLAGE EXCHANGE CENTER INC: $31,000 · Human ServicesEXPRESSIVE PATH INC: $29,000 · Human ServicesMT CARMEL WELLNESS & COMMUNITY CENTER: $19,000 · Human ServicesDELTA MONTROSE YOUTH SERVICES INC: $10,500 · Human ServicesA PRECIOUS CHILD INC: $9,000 · Human ServicesBEYOND THE BARS INC: $29,500 · Crime & LegalHEART AND HAND CENTER: $14,500 · Crime & LegalANGELS OF AMERICA'S FALLEN: $10,500 · Crime & LegalNORRIS SQUARE NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECT: $28,500 · Community ImprovementTHE COLORADO NONPROFIT DEVELOPMENT CENTER: $7,000 · Community Improvement
Arts & Culture$1,134,000Other$900,000Youth Development$218,000Education$132,500Human Services$131,500Crime & Legal$54,500Community Improvement$35,500

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetEcoArts Connections: $49,000 over 5y, 14% of budgetBARNSTONE ART FOR KIDS: $42,000 over 5y, 6.6% of budgetNEW MEXICO JAZZ WORKSHOP INC: $39,000 over 5y, 2.9% of budgetYes And Collaborative Arts: $35,000 over 5y, 2.4% of budgetBOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF NORTHEAST IND: $35,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetGIRLS FIRST: $33,000 over 5y, 3.6% of budgetARTS COUNCIL OF SOUTHERN INDIANA: $33,000 over 5y, 6.8% of budgetGreater Philadelphia Young Men's Christian Association: $33,000 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetSalida Circus Outreach Foundation: $32,500 over 4y, 5.3% of budgetVILLAGE EXCHANGE CENTER INC: $31,000 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetKIDS DANCE OUTREACH INC: $31,000 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetSAN MIGUEL MENTORING PROGRAM: $31,000 over 5y, 2.4% of budgetBEYOND THE BARS INC: $29,500 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetBLUE SAGE CENTER FOR THE ARTS: $29,000 over 4y, 3.1% of budgetKeshet Dance Company: $29,000 over 5y, 0.7% of budgetPLATTEFORUM: $29,000 over 4y, 1.2% of budgetEXPRESSIVE PATH INC: $29,000 over 5y, 3.6% of budgetMIRROR IMAGE: $28,500 over 4y, 1.4% of budgetMOVING ARTS ESPANOLA INCORPORATED: $28,500 over 3y, 1.9% of budgetNORRIS SQUARE NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECT: $28,500 over 4y, 1.5% of budgetART STUDENTS LEAGUE OF DENVER: $27,000 over 4y, 0.4% of budgetA CHILDS SONG INC: $26,500 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetPHILADELPHIA CLEF CLUB FOR JAZZ & PERFORMING ARTS INC: $26,500 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetSETTLEMENT MUSIC SCHOOL OF PHILADELPHIA: $26,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetRoshni: $24,500 over 4y, 2.0% of budgetCONCRETE COUCH: $24,500 over 4y, 1.4% of budgetFIVE STAR LIFE INC: $24,500 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetUNITY PERFORMING ARTS FOUNDATION INC: $24,500 over 4y, 1.3% of budgetEL SISTEMA COLORADO: $23,500 over 3y, 1.4% of budgetSpanish Danzart Society: $23,000 over 4y, 1.3% of budgetDENVER CHILDREN'S CHOIR: $23,000 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetKORESH DANCE COMPANY: $23,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetROCK TO THE FUTURE INC: $22,500 over 3y, 1.5% of budgetMUSICOPIA INC: $22,500 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetLIGHTHOUSE WRITERS WORKSHOP INC: $22,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetBUILDABRIDGE INTERNATIONAL: $21,000 over 4y, 5.0% of budgetART FROM ASHES INCORPORATED: $21,000 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetTHE CLAY STUDIO: $21,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetPERFORMING ARTS ACADEMY: $19,500 over 3y, 0.7% of budgetVINTAGE THEATRE: $19,500 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetPoetry Heals: $19,500 over 3y, 13% of budgetYOUTH EMPLOYMENT ACADEMY: $19,000 over 4y, 0.5% of budgetTHORNE ECOLOGICAL INSTITUTE: $19,000 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetDENVER YOUNG ARTISTS ORCHESTRA ASSOCIATION: $19,000 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetTHE PRINT CENTER: $19,000 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetCMDANCE: $19,000 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetMT CARMEL WELLNESS & COMMUNITY CENTER: $19,000 over 2y, 0.6% of budgetALLENS LANE ART CENTER: $18,000 over 3y, 1.5% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds EcoArts Connections ↗
  • Who funds BARNSTONE ART FOR KIDS ↗
  • Who funds NEW MEXICO JAZZ WORKSHOP INC ↗
  • Who funds Yes And Collaborative Arts ↗
  • Who funds BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF NORTHEAST IND ↗
  • Who funds GIRLS FIRST ↗
  • Who funds ARTS COUNCIL OF SOUTHERN INDIANA ↗
  • Who funds Greater Philadelphia Young Men's Christian Association ↗
  • Who funds Salida Circus Outreach Foundation ↗
  • Who funds VILLAGE EXCHANGE CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds KIDS DANCE OUTREACH INC ↗
  • Who funds SAN MIGUEL MENTORING PROGRAM ↗
  • Who funds BEYOND THE BARS INC ↗
  • Who funds BLUE SAGE CENTER FOR THE ARTS ↗
  • Who funds Keshet Dance Company ↗
  • Who funds PLATTEFORUM ↗
  • Who funds EXPRESSIVE PATH INC ↗
  • Who funds MIRROR IMAGE ↗
  • Who funds MOVING ARTS ESPANOLA INCORPORATED ↗
  • Who funds NORRIS SQUARE NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECT ↗
  • Who funds ART STUDENTS LEAGUE OF DENVER ↗
  • Who funds A CHILDS SONG INC ↗
  • Who funds PHILADELPHIA CLEF CLUB FOR JAZZ & PERFORMING ARTS INC ↗
  • Who funds SETTLEMENT MUSIC SCHOOL OF PHILADELPHIA ↗
  • Who funds Roshni ↗
  • Who funds CONCRETE COUCH ↗
  • Who funds FIVE STAR LIFE INC ↗
  • Who funds UNITY PERFORMING ARTS FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds EL SISTEMA COLORADO ↗
  • Who funds Spanish Danzart Society ↗
  • Who funds DENVER CHILDREN'S CHOIR ↗
  • Who funds KORESH DANCE COMPANY ↗
  • Who funds ROCK TO THE FUTURE INC ↗
  • Who funds MUSICOPIA INC ↗
  • Who funds LIGHTHOUSE WRITERS WORKSHOP INC ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The Philadelphia Cult…Henrietta Tower Wurts…Colorado Gives Founda…Henry Dolfinger 2 Tru…The Denver FoundationLindback Cr & Mf Foun…Rosenlund Family Foun…Ludwick FdnThe Colorado Health F…The William Penn Foun…The Philadelphia Foun…Stockton Rush Bartol …
The Philadelphia Cultural Fund IncPA56× affinity26 shared granteesties to 8 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Philadelphia Cultural Fund Inc · Henrietta Tower Wurts Memorial Foundation · Colorado Gives Foundation · Henry Dolfinger 2 Trust Uw · The Denver Foundation · Lindback Cr & Mf Foundation Tw Main · Rosenlund Family Foundation Inv Mgr · Ludwick Fdn · The Colorado Health Foundation · The William Penn Foundation · The Philadelphia Foundation · Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Sheila Fortune Foundation Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Sheila Fortune Foundation Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%1%4%8%15%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    52report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Sheila Fortune Foundation Inc?

    Find your warmest path to Sheila Fortune Foundation Inc through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 139 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Sheila Fortune’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home